Charles Gates Dawes Timeline

Notables return from abroad. Photo shows left to right, Owen D. Young, Gen. Charles G. Dawes and Henry M. Robinson, as they returned today aboard the leviathan, as they returned today from the reparations settlement in France and Germany. Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-00187A / CC-BY-SA

by Sigrid Pohl Perry

1635William Dawes arrives in Massachusetts Bay Colony

1775William Dawes rides from Boston to Concord to arouse the Colonists.

1895Dawes purchases utility companies in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and Evanston, Illinois; moves family to Evanston, first living on Chicago Ave., then in brother Henry’s property at 1228 Forest.

1896Dawes manages finances for William McKinley presidential campaign in Illinois; after the election he is appointed Comptroller of the Currency, serving until 1901.

1901September 5 – 13, Assassination, illness, death of Pres. McKinley with Dawes at his bedside.

1902Dawes runs campaign for Illinois Senator and fails to beat the downstate political machine. May 2, signs articles of incorporation for Central Trust Bank Company of Illinois, initially a $5 million subscription bank.

1907Dawes composes “Improvisation” for piano and violin.

1908Incorporation of Dawes Brothers Inc. with brothers Henry, Rufus and Beman. December. Sets up a bread wagon under Malcolm MacDowell to feed the unemployed migrant workers in Chicago. Later, gets Medill McCormack of the Tribune to organize a larger operation. Continues to run own wagon secretly when need arises, in 1910-12.

1914January 2, Opening of Rufus Fearing Dawes Hotel for Men to house and feed the unemployed homeless, followed in 1916 by the opening of the Rufus F. Dawes Hotel for Men in Boston, and the Mary Gates Dawes Hotel for Women in Chicago in 1917. March. Adopt Virginia Dawes, born February 20, 1914.

1917Dawes enlists in the Seventeenth Engineers Regiment to help build roads and bridges. Dawes writes new set of boat drill regulations on voyage across Atlantic; it is adopted by his old friend Gen. John J. Pershing, who also appoints Dawes General Purchasing Agent. Caro donates wool and organizes women’s group to knit sweaters for the troops; they outfit two complete regiments.

1918April, Dawes has idea for Military Board of Allied Supply to coordinate efforts; Pershing appoints Dawes head of American operations.

1921Dawes testifies before the House Committee on War Expenditures; his frustration with them breaks out in “Helen Maria,” captured in the press as “Hell and Maria”. March, Pres. Harding appoints Dawes to War Risk Board to recommend care of WWI veterans; Dawes prohibits all social functions, completes committee business in three days. June, Congress passes Budget Act and Pres. Harding appoints Dawes Director.

1923April, Dawes forms the Minute Men of the Constitution to fight crime. Evanston company is the first to be established; within six weeks it has 6,000 members. Death of Pres. Warren G. Harding.

1924President Coolidge appoints Dawes to the Reparations Commission Committee of Experts; they designate Dawes chairman, April 9.The Dawes Plan is completed in Paris in June. Republican National Convention nominates Calvin Coolidge for President and Charles G.Dawes for Vice-President, November. Coolidge and Dawes win general election against John W. Davis and Charles P. Bryan.

1929March 3, Presentation of silver tray from Senators upon completion of term as Vice-President. Appointed by Pres. Hoover to chair Dominican Economic Commission to install efficient budget system there. April, Appointed by Pres. Hoover as Ambassador to the Court of St. James. Raised over $10 million worth of bonds in Chicago to support Century of Progress exhibition.

1930Five Power Naval Conference on armament limitation in Geneva, December. Dawes resigns as Ambassador; appointed head of the Reconstruction Finance Corp.

1932June, Dawes resigns from R.F.C. to restructure Central Republic Bank and Trust Company; receives $90 million loan from the R.F.C. backed by other banks in New York and Chicago to prevent liquidation. By the following year the Central Republic is liquidated; City National Bank and Trust Company is organized.

1942Charles and Caro arrange to give (after their deaths) their home and shares of Commonwealth Edison stock to help maintain it to Northwestern University with stipulation that the Evanston Historical Society use it.

1945August 27, Dawes celebrates 80th birthday. Special issue of Finance magazine commemorates the event with series of articles and interviews.

1951February 21, R.F.C. loan and interest fully repaid. April 23, Charles Gates Dawes dies in his library at home after spending the morning at the City National Bank and Trust Co.

Join us for a morning celebration of International Women’s Day. Evanston women of all ages are invited to join us for a “Get To Know You” networking event. A light breakfast will be served. This event is free.

“A Life Worthwhile:”Lorraine H. Morton.Film Screening. Thursday, March 21, 2019, 7 p.m. (reception starts at 6:30 p.m.)EHC members are free!Click here to make a reservation.

Educator, Alderman, and Evanston’s first African American Mayor, Lorraine Hairston Morton served the Evanston community for over 50 years, guided by a simple statement her father passed down to her: “only a life of service, is a life worthwhile.” Join us for a screening of A Life Worthwhile, a film which documents and honors Morton’s life, career, and many accomplishments. The film is a production of Shorefront Films. A panel discussion will follow the screening. Presented in partnership with the Evanston Women’s History Project, the Frances Willard House Museum, and Shorefront Legacy Center.

EHC’s Women’s History Month programming is dedicated to Lorraine Morton.